Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 2 million residents, and has a very successful track record of delivering transformational change. ECC anticipated change was needed in the public sector and has worked to deliver better quality at lower cost. We have an ambitious transformation agenda – one with the scope to reach every part of the council. We are changing the way we think, the way we work, and the ways in which we deliver our services. We are committed to becoming a place where individuals, partners and communities feel proud to play their role and genuinely want to belong. We’re immensely proud of our flexible working options.

ECC is transforming how it delivers education services across one of the largest counties in the country in order to continue to improve and to ensure the best possible outcomes for every single child and young person. We are determined to build on our journey of improvement which has seen 94% of schools now being rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, and to focus more effectively on areas such as our more vulnerable children and young people to ensure Essex provides a wholly inclusive education which can meet the needs of all of our children and young people.

Essex County Council is responsible for ensuring that children and young people at risk of missing out on education are supported in being able to access suitable alternative, high quality education provision.

This role is focused on the development and delivery of complimentary education provision in schools, by being pro-active in engaging with schools, educational providers and community partners, to develop opportunities for alternative education for children and young people. Effective negotiation with schools will be a critical factor in securing costs for such provision, to offset costs of such a service. The role will work collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and key partners to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

Educated to degree level standard and experienced in the education field, with particular experience within the complimentary education environment, this role will drive the complimentary provision in local schools across Essex.

Key Accountabilities

Responsible for the development and delivery of an implementation plan to ensure the availability of complimentary education within schools.

Responsible for ensuring a robust internal assessment, evaluation and quality assurance process is in place to assess the quality of providers to ensure they meet Essex County Council (ECC) standards.

Work collaboratively with stakeholders to develop and sustain partnership arrangements to work effectively with a plethora of agencies, schools, voluntary organisations and district councils, to ensure maximum opportunities for growth.

Responsible for developing and maintaining a database of external providers, ensuring only highest quality provision is signposted to schools and monitor performance as a provider on an ongoing basis, to ensure quality of provider.

Responsible for ensuring legality of complimentary education providers to ensure risks are mitigated.

Identify and contribute to bid submissions to ensure opportunities are available to promote services and develop further revenue streams.

Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Educated to degree level or equivalent by experience.

Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.

Significant experience of business management which includes: sales, business development and marketing techniques in order to attract business from client companies.

Effective time management skills with proven ability to prioritise workloads, with experience of working to set targets in timescales dictated by business demands.

Excellent communication skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with businesses and schools for networking purposes. Evidence of negotiation with schools and delivery if face to face services, together with experience of working with senior leaders.

Knowledge and understanding of client companies, in terms of the wider industry, culture and environment.

Evidence of excellent IT skills and effective use of databases to manage relevant client information

Experience of working with young people to assess their aspirations.

The job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Depending on the geographical area, access to a vehicle or another efficient mode of transport will be required.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please visit: https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Benefits

For more information about the benefits of working for Essex County Council please go to our careers website

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity is key to our success.

If you have any queries regarding this role, or require anything further, please contact the Essex Recruitment Team on 033 005 83330* *Calls to this number are charged in the same way as calls to numbers starting 01 or 02, please check with your service provider